Mining talent in part from other studios’ successful projects, Warner Bros. has established what it’s calling a "creative consortium" to develop and produce animated features. Warner Bros. won’t launch a new animation division, but filmmakers in the think tank will collaborate on projects with the aim of releasing one title per year under the Warner Bros. Pictures Group banner.

Members of the consortium include John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, who made the Warner Bros. hit Crazy, Stupid, Love and wrote Cats & Dogs; Nicholas Stoller, a writer and executive producer on Disney’s The Muppets; Phil Lord and Chris Miller, creators of Sony’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; and Jared Stern, scribe of Fox’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins. The deal’s not exclusive—the filmmakers will also continue to write and direct live-action movies.

"Warner Bros. has an extraordinary legacy in the world of animation, including some of the most enduring characters in cinema history," Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement. "Looking to the future, we have now gathered some of the best and brightest talents in the industry to help us grow and broaden that legacy. Drawing upon their imaginations and inspiration, the studio will produce a slate of new and original animated films that are sure to delight audiences of all ages."

Warner Bros. is home to the Looney Tunes characters and has a healthy straight-to-video business, particularly with its DC Comics titles. (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns—Part 1 was second only to The Avengers in DVD sales when the two titles debuted the same week.)

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